Trading In Your Old iPhone? Do This Before You Ship It

The new iPhone came with a trade-in deal, and the prepaid box for the old one is sitting next to it. Before the old phone goes in that box, it needs to be erased, signed out, and off Find My. Here's the short version: check that your new phone has everything, unpair your Apple Watch, then on the old phone go to Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Erase All Content and Settings and enter your Apple Account password when it asks. That one step turns off Find My and Activation Lock. Then remove the phone from your account's device list and ship it before the deadline. Apple's own trade-in needs it back within 14 days of when your new device arrives.

All of it takes about half an hour, and most of that is waiting for the erase. If you're buying on a Black Friday deal (November 27 this year), that 14-day clock starts when the new phone lands, not when you order. A phone that arrives the first week of December is due back by mid-December, in the busiest shipping weeks of the year.

Why it matters for your credit

From Apple's US trade-in FAQ, as of October 2026:

• Find My has to be off. Apple tells you to turn it off before you send the phone. Erasing it the way described below does that for you.
• The condition has to match what you said. If it doesn't, Apple sends a revised value. You can reject a lower one, but then Apple sends the old phone back and charges your card the original trade-in amount.
• Once it's shipped, you can't cancel. Before that, you can cancel just by keeping the phone.
• Returning the new iPhone cancels the trade-in, and Apple says that in some cases it may not be able to send the old one back. Be sure you're keeping the new phone before you box the old one.
• Timing: the whole online process generally takes 2 to 3 weeks, and credit can take 3 to 5 business days to process after that.

Carrier and store trade-ins (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Best Buy and others) have their own deadlines and condition rules. Look for the "return by" date in your order confirmation, because it may not be 14 days.

Step 1: Make sure the new phone has everything (5 minutes)

If you set up the new phone with Quick Start (the two phones side by side) or from a recent iCloud backup, this is mostly done. Open Photos on the new phone and scroll to the last few days on the old one. Check that those photos are there. Then open the apps that keep their own data outside iCloud, like WhatsApp and authenticator apps for two-factor codes. A code generator you didn't move over is the thing people most often lose for good.

If your phone number is changing with the new phone, Apple suggests adding an extra trusted phone number to your Apple Account first, so you can still get sign-in codes.

Then make one last backup of the old phone, as Apple suggests, just in case. iCloud Photos is sync, not a second copy of the camera roll: back up your iPhone before you clean up storage is the checklist for telling those apart. If iCloud says there isn't enough storage, Apple gives free temporary iCloud storage for a new iPhone, so you don't have to pay for a bigger plan to do it.

Step 2: Unpair your Apple Watch and check for repairs (3 minutes)

If an Apple Watch is still paired to the old phone, unpair it in the Watch app before you erase. If you already paired it with the new phone, skip this.

If the phone has ever had a screen or battery replaced, open Settings › General › About. A Parts and Service History section appears there only on repaired phones. If any part says Finish Repair, finish that repair first. Apple says it can't take a device with an unfinished repair in trade.

If you pay for AppleCare+ on the old phone, cancel it or transfer it to the new owner, since you won't need it anymore.

Step 3: Erase the old phone (15 minutes, mostly waiting)

On the old iPhone, go to Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Erase All Content and Settings. Then:

1. Enter your passcode.
2. When it asks for your Apple Account password, enter it. This is the step that turns off Find My and Activation Lock. Don't skip it. If you don't know your password, reset it before you start.
3. If it asks whether to erase the eSIM too, choose to erase both, as Apple advises. Do this once your line is working on the new phone.
4. Tap Erase iPhone and wait until you see the Hello screen.

Apple says erasing removes your photos, contacts, music, apps and Apple Pay cards from the phone, but doesn't touch anything stored in iCloud. Signing out of iCloud on its own isn't the same thing. Erase it.

Step 4: Remove it from your account (2 minutes)

On the new iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, and scroll down to the list of devices. Tap the old phone. If it's still listed, tap Remove from Account. This keeps the old phone off your trusted devices list, so sign-in codes don't go to it.

Step 5: Before you seal the box

• Pop out the physical SIM card if the phone has a SIM tray. That's your line, not part of the trade.
• Take a few photos of the screen, the back and the edges, in good light. If the revised value comes back lower, you'll have a record of what you sent.
• Take off the case. Apple says you don't have to send chargers, cables or cases. It will recycle them if you do.
• Keep the tracking number until the credit shows up.

Already shipped it without erasing?

It happens. Apple's instructions if you no longer have the phone:

• Sign in at iCloud.com, open Find Devices, choose the old phone and erase it. It will erase the next time it connects.
• Remove it from your Apple Account device list (Step 4).
• Remove any Apple Pay cards that were on it. Apple's guide, linked below, has the steps.
• Apple also suggests changing your Apple Account password and making sure two-factor authentication is on.

For Apple Trade In, the FAQ also says you can turn off Find My through iCloud if you don't have the phone. Do it as soon as you notice, before the phone is inspected.

Where Phone Diet helps, and where it doesn't

We make Phone Diet, so to be clear: you don't need it, or any cleaner app, to trade in a phone. It can't erase a phone, turn off Find My or Activation Lock, or do anything in Steps 1 to 5. Apple's built-in erase is the right tool for that.

Where it helps is the new phone. If you moved to a smaller-storage model, or the transfer brought over years of duplicates, bursts and long videos, Phone Diet scans the library on your iPhone, groups near-identical shots and marks the best one Keep, and can compress videos to about half their size at the default level. The scan is free, and so is your first cleanup of up to 1 GB of photos and videos. After that, cleanups need Premium, and so does email cleanup.

Quick answers

Does erasing my old iPhone delete my iCloud photos?

No. Apple says erasing removes data from the device only, not from iCloud. Check that your photos are on the new phone or in iCloud Photos before you erase.

How long do I have to send it?

For Apple Trade In in the US, Apple needs to receive it within 14 days of when you receive your new device. Carrier and store deals set their own windows.

Do I need to send the charger or case?

Not for Apple Trade In. Apple says you don't have to, but it will recycle them if you include them.

Sources: Apple Support, what to do before you sell, give away or trade in your iPhone; review devices signed in to your Apple Account; iPhone Parts and Service History; Apple Trade In FAQ (US, checked October 27, 2026).

Not trading it in but handing it down? The steps for setting it up for a child are in giving your old iPhone to your kid.